The candidate of the All-Progressive’s Congress (APC) in the 2023 Rivers State guber election, Tonye Cole, has said that the former governors of Rivers State- Peter Odili, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nyesom Wike- should sit at a table with current governor Siminalayi Fubara, to engage in peace talks and hash out their differences, if not, there will not be peace in Rivers State.
Cole said this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday while addressing the political violence that erupted in Rivers State as a result of the recently concluded local government elections.
Cole pointed out that the ongoing unrest stems from deep-rooted internal conflicts dating back to the tenure of former Governor Peter Odili and continuing through the administrations of Amaechi, Wike, and the current governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
He said, “What you’re talking about is one internal battle that has started a long time ago, and it’s not in isolation. And so, to actually believe that moving forward from now is actually going to bring peace moving forward, I think it’s a fallacy. There’s no peace that can happen under the present circumstances. And you have to go back to Odili into Amaechi, Amaechi into Wike, Wike into Sim, and you will see that there is a trend that must end, because everybody that is being mentioned here comes from the same nuclear family, splitting up and fighting to the death.”
“There are four actors here that must be called together to sit down, and until all of them sit at a table and decide that Rivers State is more important than personal agenda or interests, till then, we’re not going to have peace. His Excellency Peter Odili, who is the father of everybody in this political dynamic must sit at the table. Rotimi Amaechi His Excellency must sit at that table. Nyesom Wike must sit at that table, and Sim Fubara must sit at that table.
“And the President can superintend this if he really wants peace in Rivers State, and a decision must be made that this is how we are going to be moving forward. Until that is done, as soon as Fubara’s time is about to end, you will see another all-out war.”
Addressing the culture of violence in Rivers politics, Cole expressed his frustration with the situation, saying, “They tell us straight up that you cannot win an election in Rivers State if you are not ready to bring violence upon violence. And you are seeing it here, this is local government election, full violence at play, and we’re expecting peace? No, it can’t happen. Rivers State, we will see this over and over again until the actors sit down and talk.”
He voiced his disappointment in the negative perception of Rivers State as he said, “Rivers State always happens to be in the news for the very wrong reasons. There is nobody that should be proud of what is happening in Rivers State, especially now. Rivers State is blessed with so many other things that could be happening. Yet, instead, what we talk about is violence in Rivers State, burning in Rivers State, shooting in Rivers State, political recklessness in Rivers State. And I believe strongly that this has to come to an end. We need to do something totally differently, this cannot continue. I am not happy at all about what I see in Rivers State. This happened to me personally, and when it was happening at that time, and we were saying that this must end, nobody paid attention. And now, we are seeing what impunity does when you leave it and you don’t put it to a hold.”
“What we are seeing is a very dangerous threat to what democracy should be in Nigeria, and it must stop,” he said.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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